Biography Books

I love this book! It is a can't put down sort of book. I only wish I could have a vet like him. Wow can't imagine the vet making house calls...and I would have put mine in the bathroom with the door closed until he arrived (or else he would have found mine under the bed or some place) Funny stories on places some of his patients actually hid it is a cute very good read. Highly recommend

I hated to get to the last page of this book because I had become so very fond of the author. Some people might not like him. Some might say he seemed at times arrogant or haughty. He might have laughed at the accusation and even agreed as he did not consider himself to be charming. But most of us are charmed, none the less. I am an animal lover, but I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys making the acquantances of strong characters who are a just little bit different. And what would he say of us? Likely that all of his reviewers are normal, but some are more normal than others. Myself included.

With a bit of pathos mixed in (the Missing Cat)

I would have LOVED to make those rounds with him!!

Dr Camuti was a doctor with a caring Heart and Soul and had a special bond with those animals he loved and cared for.

A wonderful book!!

I had heard about Louis J. Camuti through my membership in the Cornell Feline Health Center. This story about Dr. Camuti's experiences as a NYC vet providing house calls for his feline patients is thoroughly engaging. The stories have a timeless appeal to those of us who are 'owned' by our cats.

A vet who specializes in house calls for cats from the 1940's through the 80's writes in a witting and engaging way, telling charming stories about the cats (and people) he treated over the years. A pleasant read.

I found Alpha Dogs to be an inspiring read. The author, Donna Fenn, does a magnificent job of taking eight businesses and highlighting specific aspects of the business that make it a "leader of the pack." For example, Chris Zane of Zane's Cycles goes to remarkable lengths to attract and maintain his customers. Jim Throneburg at THOR-LO constantly innovates a commodity product to maintain his leadership status and Trish Karter of Dancing Deer Baking carefully fosters the development of her brand. I just launched my small business and took pages of notes about the featured companies and their strategies for success. While none of the companies featured in Alpha Dogs are in my industry, the basic themes of innovation, customer service, branding, reinventing and technology stretch across all industries. This is a valuable and informative read that motivates any small business owner to progress forward.

I absolutely loved this book - I blew through it in two days, which is a really rare occurrence for me.

This book was full of insightful and valuable lessons, in the form of entertaining and inspiring stories about 8 businesses that, through the techniques explained in this book, have become leaders in their otherwise mundane or unglamorous industries.

I have made this book required reading for everyone working in my company, and will be buying additional copies as we hire more employees. A truly worthwhile read, and unlike many books of this kind, it completely avoids being pedantic.

I will be looking forward to Fenn's latest book!

This was a very informative book using real life businesses and their successes and struggles

Are you a small business owner? This book is for you! Donna Fenn captures the spirit of small business ownership and the entrepreneurial energy that it takes to compete in today's market. The non-traditional business examples (bicycles, socks, ice cream, grocery stores and more), will give you great ideas to kick start or re-energize your small business. Highly recommended!!!

I really like the concept behind ALPHA DOGS: HOW YOUR SMALL BUSINESS CAN BECOME A LEADER OF THE PACK by Donna Fenn. So how is the concept different than any other book? Fenn combines the strategies she is promoting with small business profiles of companies that exemplify those very strategies.

For example, chapter three "Convert Your Employees Into True Believers" profiles the Dorothy Lane Grocery Company of Ohio. Penn outlines a brief history of the company and how they came about adopting the employee training process that has made them so successful. Penn outlines the entire process from hiring to orientation to continuous training and learning to what they call intrapreneurship. The profile concludes with the companies community involvement and how they keep their employees involved as well.

Each chapter ends with two to four pages of tips from the profile company on how to implement the discussed strategies and processes. In other words, this book doesn't just talk the talk, it walks the walks with actual working examples to follow or emulate. The mix of companies also enhances interest. There's literally something here every company can relate to.

There's also a great deal of really good back matter here. Each chapter's sources are listed for further study. Fenn is a contributing editor of Inc magazine. Those familiar with her articles have come to expect from her, exactly the kind of information this book delivers.

This has been one of the few excellent books i have ever read. It is actually real, it really happened, so it makes you feel as if this was happining before your eyes. It was sad, and well written. i actually heard David Faber, the author of this book, speak. He was an incredibly powerful speaker, and his book places you in his position, just as his speech does.

David faber visited our high school last week, and had told us about his horrific ordeal during the holocaust. And I was utmost touched and embraced him. I could see those fear he told us in his eyes. And some of us left the auditorium in tears. I recommend this to anyone, because there is a dark side of humanity we taken for granted, and people had suffered more than anyone who had to go through.

I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Faber as he spoke at the middle school I attended when I was in 7th grade. He spoke to us about his experiences and encounters during the Holocaust that took part in Europe during WWII. Our history teacher read us "Because of Romek" as it was part of our curriculm. I have not been the same since. This is an incredible account of what he went through in keeping of his promise to his mother to stay alive. I would recommend this to a more mature audience being that it does have some parts that are somewhat rough to handle...or so were for myself but overall is an incredible read...as he takes you through his experiences.

This book explains how David's encounter with the Holocaust and yet his story is sad but a good book to read. This is one of the best holocaust memoir I've read! I highly recommended. When I was starting to read the book, I couldnt but the book down...( I ended up finishing the book in 2 days!). I loved it and highly respect the holocaust survivors and of course, David Faber.

Had I thought it was fiction, I would have thought the author went over the top with this farfetched tale. To know that it is authentic is horrifying and at the same time captivating. If you are into the holocaust, then you will find this book absolutely fascinating; and if you aren't a history buff I recommend this book as enlightenment. My utmost respect to anyone that has been through this nightmare. And David Faber my deepest gratitude for having written this book.

This book is undoubtedly to be rated five stars. However, be prepared, the book is a rather lengthy 400 pages. The American public has been led to believe that Joseph was THE leader of the Nez Perce while others, at times, had more influence than Joseph. General Oliver Howard gave the Nez Perce an unreasonable demand of moving to the reservation within 30 days or be put there by force. An ensuing chase from Oregon across Idaho, across Yellowstone National Park in northwestern Wyoming, and north into Montana terminated at the Bear's Paw Mountains in northern Montana. The Battle of the Big Hole in Idaho involving Colonel John Gibbon involved the indiscriminate killing of men, women, and children which reminded me of the Sand Creek Massacre in Colorado. Gibbon stated in his report he killed 89 Nez Perce, but neglected to say that 50 of the dead were women and children. This infuriated the young Nez Perce who took revenge on any white settlers they came in contact with.

On Page 74 author Kent Herburn mentions that the Lakota Sioux "murdered" George Armstrong Custer and his men at the Little Big Horn. Herburn fails to mention that it was Custer and his men that did the attacking, and the Sioux and others were simply defending themselves.

Although a few of the Nez Perce did manage to go north to Canada following the surrender Joseph and most of the others gave up the fight with the understanding they would be returned to their original homeland. Incredible suffering began as they were transferred from one place to another from North Dakota and then south to Kansas and Oklahoma, but not to their beloved Wallowa Valley in Oregon. After eight years of suffering with the cold, heat, and insufficient food the remaining Nez Perce (less than 300 of the original 800) were split into two groups, some to the Wallowa Valley and others (including Joseph) to the Colville Reservation in Washington where Joseph died in 1904 still clinging to his traditional way of life.

I found the book to be a very detailed read, and it is a book you are going to have to have patience to stick with it. I believe it is the most comprehensive book yet written on the flight and plight of the Nez Perce Indians. This story is most certainly, as the book's cover states, "an American tragedy."

Though I have read a significant amount about the Nez Perce, this was my firt introduction to kent Nerburn. The moment I held the book in my hands I felt the heart it was written with reach out to me and draw me into it. Kent, through his intense dedication and depth of soul brought the story alive. Most writings on the subject are accountings-here I felt the people involved and became part of the story. That depth of unity IS Native American.

This book so reached me I immediately ordered several other books by the same author, as well as more copies of this book to give to friends.

I couldn't get past page 100. By then I had lost any hope that the author possessed the objectivity necessary to produce a worthwhile history of his subject. Constant repeated superlatives about any and all aspects of the Nez Perce or of his primary historical figure became monotonous. For example, in his description of the arrival of Lewis & Clark, he extols the nobility of the Nez Perce while describing a council meeting that, but for the intervention of one women, would have decided to murder the visitors in their sleep. This all too common tendency to see tribal life as an unspoiled and innocent Eden takes this author over the edge of credibility.

Kent Nerburn's story of Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce is that of one of histories great, proudest and yet truly humble men. Nerburn writes smoothly and convincingly as he traces the our government reversals and flight of the Nez Perce through bitter winter in an effort to reach and cross the Canadian border.

Chief Joseph's efforts to avoid conflict unless cornered, and how he still tried to lead his people to safety is a story of courage, betrayal and near extinction, written by an author who picks up on the soul and pain of this man--and his people--who must never be forgotten as a truly memorable part of indian courage and dignity. This is a book worth reading--and reading again.

author of THE SWAN: Tales of the Sacramento Valley

My ex-wife is of Chippewa descent and I have attended many pow-wows with her family. To see Native peoples drum, sing traditional songs and "fancy dance" is humbling and wonderful. A people united to reclaim a heritage stolen from them. Stolen by the pursuers of the Nez Perce, as told so purely in Kent Nerburn's book. Some of the examples of the elderly, pregnant and very young Nez Perce being terrified by the U.S. Cavalry's cannons are harrowing and hard to read. The idea of these people leaving their old, blind and mortally wounded alone on the trail to die by themselves with dignity, signing their death songs, is unimaginable. Joseph was never the "Chief" of the Nez Perce, as Nerburn clearly illustrates. That was a role fostered on him by the white press and politicians to create a cunning and evil adversary. Man, how things have not changed. Weapons of Mass Destruction anyone? And to my ex-wife, who inspired me to learn the real history of the Native American people, "I will fight no more forever."

If you are interested in the story of Zen in America, you must read this book. Paints a vivid portrait of one of the premier teachers, giving a "behind the scenes" view of what a spiritual teacher's life is like, without the mythologizing you often find. A good read, too. The story of his life in Japan draws you right in, and the descriptions of San Francisco in the sixties bring it to life, although the forward momentum of the narrative begins to bog down into various random anecdotes from his students.

For the continuation of the story after Suzuki's death, you should follow up with "Shoes Outside the Door: Desire, Devotion and Excess at San Fransciso Zen Center" .

--Alan Zundel, the HeartAwake Center

This is a very good book. You can read "Zen Mind, Beginners Mind" and find out what Shunryu Suzuki says. More importantly, you can read this and see how Shunryu lived his life - an even better example. Simply and accepting (well most of the time except when he threw the odd wobbly). The book shows that there is nothing to zen, and then of course, there is everything.

It could benefit with an index

This is really the only way to get the skinny on Shunryu Suzuki in a short amount of time. David was kind enough to allow me an interview regarding this (then) recently published book for my last (online) edition of Royal Vagrant, back in February of 2001. In addition to the information he graciously shared with me, I really enjoyed the book a great deal as readable biography and a useful guide to ordination and what to look for in a Zen/Ch'an teacher.

"Crooked Cucumber" is what Suzuki's own Zen master called a naughty Suzuki as a boy. Suzuki was a little bit lazy and devious and the name is an endearing trademark for the man's affable appreciation for the natural bent of a person's character, especially in Americanized Zen practice (and it MUST become somewhat "Americanized", is what he would have said, to become authentic practice for Americans).

Chadwick is a talented author and fuly deserves to be remembered as the man who captured Suzuki's personality and life down on paper.

Crooked Cucumber: The Life and Teaching of Shunryu Suzuki

My husband, Jack Elias, a student of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi in the early days of San Francisco Zen Center, recommended Crooked Cucumber to me shortly after we met. At a loss for words to describe his Zen teacher, he handed me the book and said, "David has said it all amazingly well." I didn't know much about Zen, and all I knew about this great Zen master was that he had authored the classic, Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind. I didn't know who David Chadwick was, either. After reading the book, though, it soon became apparent that the birth of American Zen Buddhism, the life of Suzuki Roshi, and a deep admiration for David, the author of this beautifully written and exactingly reported biography, had all entered my mind's world ineffably and permanently. I remember this book and its stories the way one recalls favored scenes from one's own personal history. This phenomenon itself has proven interesting food for contemplation. Sometimes out of the blue, details of Suzuki Roshi's life arise vividly and with great immediacy. In those moments I think about how this teacher lived, and how he made his difficult way to enlightenment. Quite simply, this book continues to nourish me, though I'm not a Zen student. Crooked Cucumber changed my mind in ways I can't pinpoint, but for which I'm nonetheless deeply grateful. A thousand thanks to David Chadwick for delivering Suzuki Roshi to us with such love, humor, and rigorous specificity.

I came to this book with some reservations, having been told that it was a largely flattering and hagiographic "authorized" biography by one of the subject's most avid students. I expected a saccharine-sweet, whitewashed vanilla ride...and was very pleasantly DISAPPOINTED, lol!

While the author makes no secret of his own profound respect and admiration for Suzuki, he does not omit many ambiguous and less flattering details and events in the subject's life and character. So while the portrait of Suzuki that emerges is largely positive, it is not without some shadows and warts as well, i.e. it is not a two-dimensional characterization by any means. We get a balanced insight into Suzuki the "Zen master" (=highly skilled teacher of Zen) as well as Suzuki the perfectly imperfect human being.

What sets this book firmly in the top echelon of biographies is Chadwick's fluid and graceful storytelling, and the skillful interweaving of Suzuki's own writings and talks into the narrative. In some ways it reads almost like a novel, with the vivid and often lyrical descriptions and re-creations...Chadwick's prose certainly does not have the tedious smell of your typical academic writing. Every few pages there are italicized excerpts from the teacher's books or recorded talks, and they are for the most part very well chosen, with the events that are subsequently described complementing and/or exemplifying those thoughts perfectly. In this way, when you read "Crooked Cucumber" you really get to enjoy two books in one: a very enjoyable biography about a very interesting and irresistible man, and that man's own unique interpretation and practice of Zen philosophy.

It's been a very long time since I've been as engrossed by a biography as I was by this one...maybe we could get David O. Russell (director of the ingenious and deeply Buddhist "I Heart Huckabees") to make a film out of it!

A good book if you want to learn more details about the men from Easy Company. You should also read Dick Winter's books.

It is a good book, but the actual battles are not really in depth. If you are looking to learn more about the was battles don't buy this book. If you looking to learn more about Don Malarkey because you liked his character in the series then this is a must read.

Having read the "Band Of Brothers" by Ambrose and the books written by Maj. Dick Winters which were all great books and very interesting, Don Malarky also came up with a very good one. He sure lasted a lot longer in combat than the average infantryman. He seemed very conscientious in doing his job. I can relate to a lot of the situations that he was in. I was in "Easy Company" 318th Reg. 80th Division. Our 2nd Battalion was attached to the 4th Armored and made the contact to the 101st Div. at Bastogne. I've read most of the memoirs of the ETO fighting and this one rates among the best.

A good easy read and another great perspective of the efforts of the soldiers of the 101st. Not written as boldly as some other easy company author's work but a good read`all the same. When comparing you do however pick up on how the wars affect was different for the individual soldiers of easy co.

Excellent story and book. Sgt. Malarkey played a major role in the Band of Brothers which I have watched at least 10 times. My Uncle fought in the Battle of the Bulge yet seldom mentioned what he went through...except he had frost bite up past his ankles. He never mentioned his medals: Two Bronze Stars, Good Conduct Medal and the Victory Ribbons. We learned of these from the VA upon his death at the age of 95.

Thank you Sgt. Malarkey for writing this book.

I have owned a copy of this book since 1996. As I read the book over and over, I gain new insights to a deeper walk with the Lord each time. Madame Guyon teaches in simple, easy to understand language, how to experience God at new depths. She has amazing insights. I bought this copy of the book to give away as a gift. Happy reading.....

A classic on prayer.. esp. inward prayer.. quiet prayer... listening prayer... practical suggestions on how to do Matt.6:6..on entering the 'secret place' and learning how to 'behold the Lord' and to 'hear His voice'.
If you want to move from an intellectual knowledge of Christ to an intimate relationship with Him, then you must read this book and practice what is in it.
Two other books you should get with this one.. They compliment each other very well are:
1.) Milt Rodriguez: The Temple Within,Fellowship with an Indwelling Christ. and
2.) Michael Molinos: The Spiritual Guide.

Guyon and Molinos both wrote 400+ years ago. Rodriguez has taken what these folks and others have said and out of his experience presents a modern approach to this same subject.
Guyon also wrote, Intimacy with Christ (modern title) that is also a good companion to Experiencing the Depths.
I can't emphasize enough how valuable this book will be to you. You'll go back to it over and over again as you go deeper into your relationship with our glorious Lord Jesus Christ.
I agree with others.. If what is taught in this book is taught to and practiced by "new Christians' right after they're saved, then they would move into an intimate fellowship (1Cor.1:9) with Christ right out of the gate... probably similar to what the 1stCentury Christians experienced. They knew an indwelling Lord.. not a book.

I was struggling to find how to live a deep christian life.
Though there are many books to talk about this issue, I'm pretty sure that this book is the right one.
the only one book i would recommend is this.
So far, as a layman christian, I read more than 200 books about many different area. discipline, church, theology, ministry, ...
However, i was shocked at this book just after reading several pages.

This is MUST READ !!!

"Experiencing the Depths..." is one of the best books on prayer ever written. But, you need to follow her instructions to actually do chapters 1,2, & 3 before you read on. The temptation to continue reading and not doing is enormous but the result will just be confusion. Also reading her Autobiography will increase your understanding and connection with this book.

Pastor pablo alegre

Guyon has given the church a spiritual gem. And this gem has been mostly hidden... hidden by years of religious junk that is void of life-changing power! She writes of what many call "the deeper Christian life" when it is truthfully... the normal Christian life. Unfortunately, it is this Christian life that most believers never mature and grow up into.

Guyon calls believers to learn a new way of prayer and a new way to read Scripture. This new way will ultimately lead us to experience the depths of Jesus Christ.

Guyon recognizes that man is tripartite or trichotomous in nature. Meaning... man is composed of spirit, soul(psyche), and body. It is in the spirit of man that we meet Christ. It is through the denial of our soul-life (i.e. will, emotions, intellect) that we learn to meet with God in the spirit. The spirit then governs the soul and body as Christ intended in divine order.

It is through abandonment and pressing through the "spiritual dryness" that we shall take hold of a deeper experience with Christ. Discerning the activity of your spirit vs. your soul... will allow you to come to Christ in the way he has placed before us. It is by turning inward to Christ that we discover his life in us.

"When your soul is once turned toward God---the God who dwells within your spirit---you will find it easy to keep turning within. The longer you continue to turn within, the closer you will come to God and the more firmly you will cling to him." p.54

Many believers are led astray by external activities of the soul for years before they ever take seriously the spiritual things spoken of in this book. This is a common occurrence... but it is not normal and it never should be accepted as an inevitable delay of Christian maturity.

Guyon writes, "If a new convert were introduced to real prayer and to a true inward experience of Christ as soon as he became converted, you would see countless numbers of converts go on to become true disciples."

She goes on to say, "the present way of deaing only with external matters in the life of the new convert brings little fruit. Burdening the new Christian with countless rules and all sorts of standards does not help him grow in Christ. Here is what should be done: The new Christian should be led to God. How? By learning to turn within to Jesus Christ and by giving the Lord his whole heart." p.117

This book is about how this happens. I have not read a more practical book about Christian living. I highly recommend this book to those who have exhausted themselves by attempting to live like Christ in the soul-life.

For more of a thorough teaching on the tripartite nature of man... please read, "The Release of the Spirit" and "The Spiritual Man, vol.1" by Watchman Nee.

I recommend the following books:
The Release of the Spirit
The Spiritual Man (3 volume set)
The Centrality of Jesus Christ (Works of T. Austin-Sparks) Volume One
The Pursuit of God: The Human Thirst for the Divine

There are parts of the book that are clearly written in the immature style of a teenager (colloquial speech) and parts that have been edited so much that they seem to come from an entirely different person. The overall book is choppy in terms of style, although the organization is excellent.

I would have preferred that the author articulate more clearly his emotions that accompanied his experiences. I would have hoped that his editor/professional writing mentor would have worked on making the story more compelling. I was a bit sad to get to the end of the book and not feel inspired. I felt like it was an "interesting story," but inspirational--not quite.

The captions below the photos should either not exist or tell additional information that is not contained in the text. I was annoyed to read a summary statement below the photo that I had just read on the previous pages.

It would be a good leisure read for high school students (or anyone for that matter), although as an example of good quality writing, I wouldn't suggest it.

A wonderful book that will give you a firsthand account of the situation surrounding child labor in South East Asia.

The Kielburger story is one of an incredible journey that he took as a twelve year old to explore the problem of child labor. The "journey" has continued since then into his discovery of the problem all over the world, in addition to his solution through his organization. They build schools, spread awareness through lectures (and their website www.freethechildren.com), inspire young leaders through their programs, and so much more. This is a story that needs to be told over and over again to whomever in hopes that the world can work together to "Free the Children" all over the globe. Get this book and pass it on to any one and make sure they pass it on....

Craig and Marc's stories are so amazing. I used to think that I can't make a difference in the world because I am only 14 years old. This book taught me that even the smallest of actions can create a ripple that affects more people than I can ever imagine. The ideas in this book are really quite simple, but when articulated so clearly by Marc and Craig, it just makes so much sense.

Craig Keilburger is an amazing man and is one of the Worlds greatest heroes. I have learned more from this book then any in the whole world. Even Social Studies!

We used this book as one of our monthly Book Club selections. We had a wonderful discussion.
For me the whole book is a commentary on what he says on the first page. He learned to "let go." the rest is all a way of living a CHristian life from this point of view; not be attached to anything but keep your eyes on God alone.
Based on the Gospel of Jesus, this ability of "letting go" is the secret of Christian life; to allow God to work in us and through us require that we learn how to discern His will. Once we do this, we can live our lives without letting the storms determine the direction of our journey.
Cardinal Bernardin learned this the hard way.
I read the book in a couple of hours but had to go back again over and over to let the truth of his experience sink in my own heart.
I particularly enjoyed the chapter titles: they used his own handwriting. It was his wish. I liked that he reclaimed beauty (handwriting) in a world that was being destroyed by the ugliness of his illness.
easy read, thought provoking, life changing book.

I found this to be a wonderful piece of work and have lent it to several friends who were diagnosed with cancer. Monsignoir Velo's reading was very delightful and I give him a lot of credit for being able to read his good friend's memoires.

Beautifully written. As Cardinal Bernardin reflects on the last three years of his life, he shares the importance of embracing prayer, family, suffering, beauty, reconciliation, pain, and forgiveness in order to appreciate and completely enter into the fullness of peace.

For anyone who feels lost or alone in life or frustrated, angry, or scared at the thought of facing death, I recommend this book. Love and peace pour out of the pages as the author shares his life experiences, struggles, and genuine concern for others. He shared his love with countless people he encountered in his life, and his love continues to be shared after his death to any reader who has the opportunity to read this book.

The book is quite short (can easily be read in one sitting) and is incredibly focused and well organized. The book title, chapter titles, and introductory letter are handwritten by the author and really add genuineness to the book. Highly recommended.

For anyone facing a devastating tragedy or terminal illness, this is an uplifting story one of the great leaders of the American Catholic Church. As Archbishop of Chicago and later a Cardinal, Cardinal Bernardin was a well-known leader in Catholic circles. The accusation of sexual misconduct leveled at him by a young man catapulted the cardinal into the national spotlight in a humiliating way. Later, the young man recanted his tale and met personally with Cardinal Bernardin to apologize. Through this whole ordeal, the Cardinal acted with great faith, but was naturally bewildered about a charge from a person he did not know about something he knew he did not do. He found the words of John 8:32 (The truth will set you free) to be his guiding light and found their promise fulfilled.

The story of the allegations and their later withdrawal is a small part of the recollections he shares with us in his very personal and intimate style. The major thrust of the book concerns his diagnosis of pancreatic cancer and how he struggled with his fate and rediscovered a newer and stronger faith in God. In a very heartfelt way he discusses his understanding of suffering---not merely its inevitability but also its purpose and redemptive value. He recalls quite vividly the words Jesus used at the Last Supper, knowing that in a matter of hours he would be crucified. "Love one another. Such as my love has been for you, so must your love be for each other. This is how all will know you as my disciples: your love for one another." Cardinal Bernardin lived these words, most completely in the last three years of his life, the period covered by this remembrance.

As noted by others, this book comes as close as any to a person describing their final days on earth and preparing to enter the kingdom of God. Cardinal Bernardin finished the book on November 1, 1996 and died thirteen days later on November 14, 1996. Even if you have never heard of him, you will be inspired by his poignant recounting of a life well spent and discovering the great gift of inner peace amidst tragedy.

"Subito Santo!"(Make him a saint now!) was my first thought as I finished reading "The Gift of Peace: Personal Reflections by Joseph Cardinal Bernardin". This was a book I noted when it first was published, but I waited to read it until now. Perhaps I thought it would be sad or even depressing. How wrong I was! This is an uplifting book, recounting in his own words the major events of the last three years of Cardinal Bernardin's life. It is a book filled with moving stories of reconciliation, kindness,
care of others even in the face of his own debilitating illness, and love of the highest order. It is the truest expression of the saying "Let go and let God" I have ever encountered.

This is not a long book and I suggest reading its short chapters over several days or weeks. This will allow the "Gift of Peace" the book offers--which is Cardinal Bernardin's real legacy--to take root and grow in the reader. If this happens, the book has served its purpose and Cardinal Bernardin, now in the company of the saints in light (even if not an official saint yet) can, himself, rest in peace.

"Santo subito!" Make him a saint now!

Lou Thesz's "Hooker" is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of sports entertainment, er, professional wrestling. It provides a good overview of the career of an indisputably great figure in this strange business. My only reservation is that the book isn't long enough. Anyone who read Thesz's letters to the Wrestling Observer knows the man had a wealth of anecdotes and insights about the wrestling business. It's a pity Thesz hadn't been more free with the anecdotes. It's also a shame Thesz didn't talk about life after wrestling - perhaps he didn't think anyone would be interested in Lou Thesz, the man? Oh, and by the way, am I the only one who found that anecdote about George Tragos to be seriously unsettling? Tragos might have been a great wrestler, but he sounded like a monster to me. Again, a great contribution to the under-recorded history of this business. It's like history itself talking.

This book comes across very well even if you are not old enough to know of Lou Thesz. You have to come to grips with the fact that most of his matches were fake to one degree or the other, but some were totally real, or even outright fights, and he was a highly skilled wrestler. His sportsmanship comes across loud and clear. I could cheer for this guy however he played it.

Every wrestling fan should read this book. There is more "TRUTH" about the sport here than in any book that I've read. Thesz was a master back when real men ruled the (then) sport. The difference between Lou Thesz and the wrestlers today is enormous. An excellent read for anyone with even a remote interest in the wrestling business. Classic.

In this book, Thesz gives an honest, open and interesting view of professional wrestling from an old timer's view point. Thesz was a reknowned "hooker", being that he was capable enough in the ring to actually destroy an opponent if need be, and has no qualms with giving the truth behind many figures in history. Ironically, you'd think he hated those deemed "performers," or those who were simply acters instead of accomplished amateurs or hookers, yet he seems to have been open-minded enough to realize that for the big money to occur, things had to change.

Thesz is a very open and honest person and I'd suggest this book to any wrestling fan who truly wants a good insight to the roots of professional wrestling through the 20th century.

This book is amazing! On telling the history of professional wrestling its second to none. And the best source for the history of Catch Wrestlers(Hookers), How wrestling went from Carnivals to the big time. And the stages of evolution it went through on the way to the Sports Entertainment its evolved to today. All the greats are talked about in length. Frank Gotch, Ed Lewis, Joe Stecher all the great hookers of yesteryear. This book tells how all the old promoters used to run the Business. Very intersting reading.

This book's weak point is in the actually biography of Lou Thesz. Way to much stuff left out. He would rattle on for page after page about Toots Mondt and other promoters. And then throw in a sentence like "I was married for 30 years to so and so. I wished I never met her." And just leave it at that. So he comes out of this book kind of like a cardboard cut out of the good guy he played in the ring. But dont get me wrong this book is awesome and a must read. 5 star supreme, one of the most interesting books Ive ever read. Just dont think that Lou reveals much about his self. Because he dosent. He talks about his 3 sons with just a one liner about he has three sons. Very shallow about his family life. And no pictures. But a great biography of the actual wrestling and behind the scene promotions. And how George Tragos took the son of a Hungarian/German shoe maker and made him one of the most dangerous human beings to ever walk the planet. Must read!